With a week off of work and wanting to ride some coasters I don’t get to ride often, I decided to see if Jen had a few days off to go to Carowinds. Luckily, she had a few days off before the Fourth of July too, so things lined up perfectly. We made our way down on Monday, enjoyed the park all day on Tuesday, and then headed back home on Wednesday.
Other than a speeding ticket I got only 30 minutes from our hotel on the way down, this trip was everything we could have hoped for. We also managed to visit Dixie Caverns on the way home too, which was a fun time. I love visiting show caves and this one in Salem, Va. was one I had yet to experience. Anyhow, you’re here to know about the park, so let’s get into it.
Two Dozen Rides... Could Have Been More
We managed to ride every single coaster in the park, minus Wilderness Run (no kids). Several coasters we rode two, three, four, and even five times each too. We could have pulled off even more rides had I not took an hour and a half to do a round of photos throughout the park with my mirrorless camera. If you love coaster photos, be sure to check out the massive 100-plus photo gallery at this trip report’s conclusion.
Fury 325
My last trip to Carowinds came back in 2021 with Sam and Greg. It was a hot two days, and we managed a few rides on Fury 325. All were during the day and the ride just didn’t do it for me like it did on my previous visit in 2018. It wasn’t bad, but it just didn’t feel as amazing as I remembered. I couldn’t put my finger on it. Well, as of July 2024, it’s back!
Fury was running great all four rides we managed. Two came during the day and two came at night just before the park closed at 10 p.m. Every ride felt amazing with tons of airtime, speed, and lateral moments, and minimal rattle. After each ride I found myself asking why I didn’t feel this way last time. The ONLY thing I can think is that due to the extreme heat we faced in 2018, I was just worn out. Heat, lack of sleep, drink, or food has made me feel that way before, so that’s what I’m thinking.
I also think it’s time to re-examine my Coaster Rankings and move some things around. I was already debating it after my Dorney Park visit last month. With this trip to Carowinds, it definitely time.
Copperhead Strike
The star of the show during my 2021 visit was easily Copperhead Strike. I’ve always enjoyed airtime pops, but Copperhead made me fall heels over head in love with hangtime. See what I did there? Heels over head? Upside down? Okay, I’ll stop.
Like my visit three years ago the hangtime on this ride stole the show. I told Jen how much I loved this ride several times during our drive down and time working our way back to the ride. I was scared I had overhyped it. Thankfully that wasn’t the case.
Jen loved the ride and declared it her favorite in the park as well. As of right now I have it ranked higher than Fury 325 just because that hangtime and airtime combo is so pleasing to me. Like I said above, however, Fury really shined and the two might be closer than ever in my re-worked rankings.
Afterburn
I’ve always enjoyed Afterburn, but I didn’t rank it among my top two or three inverts like many. Alpengeist at Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW) has long been my favorite B&M Inverted Coaster and it’s going to take a lot for that to change. Banshee became my second favorite after my 2021 visit to Kings Island. I also love Talon at Dorney, Raptor at Cedar Point, and Great Bear at Hersheypark a ton, so I always had those inverts lumped pretty close to one another. I think Afterburn always sat behind them due to my lack of rides on it and not having the same level of memories made on it like I do with the others.
After this week’s visit to Carowinds, getting in three rides on Afterburn, it might also be time to move this one up too. Every ride was so smooth, and the elements all hit – both in the back and front of the train. Jen also loved the coaster and its airplane theme. She also loves inverts, so there’s that.
Final Ride Counts
Afterburn (3)
Air Racers (1: Jen)
Boo Blasters on Boo Hill (1)
Carolina Cyclone (1)
Carolina Goldrusher (1)
Copperhead Strike (5)
Flying Cobras (1)
Fury 325 (4)
Hurler (1)
Kiddy Hawk (1)
Nighthawk (1)
Ricochet (1)
Thunder Striker (2)
Vortex (1)
Woodstock Express (1)
Closing Out the Night Strong
As the clock ticked closer to 10 o’clock, Jen and I found ourselves wanting a few night rides on Copperhead Strike and Fury 325. We made our way to Copperhead first and planned to do two rides and then make a bee line over to Fury. Yes, another pun.
After finishing up our second ride on Copperhead, there wasn’t a single person in the station, so the entire train was allowed to re-ride. No complaints from either of us!
Once we were done at Copperhead we made it to Fury with enough time to get in a ride or two. We managed a front row and back row ride and both were so good! We could have jumped in two open seats for a third ride, but I already began walking out of the station. Oh well. Sorry Jen!
It was nice getting out to a park I don’t visit often and seeing Jen experience all the rides for the first time. She’s been riding lots of new rides she absolutely loves these last few months. I’m sure she’ll discover even more moving forward. Now… what park do we visit next?
Carowinds Photo Gallery - July 2, 2024
If you would like to use any of the images in the gallery above for your commercial and/or non-commercial projects, feel free to do so. I ask that you credit We Were Inverted whenever they’re used. I also ask that you do not alter the image or remove the watermarks. If you need any images/video resized or without the watermarks, please contact me directly.
CREW MANIFEST
The following flight crew members attended this park, & earned the respective credits below:
Patrick
CAG
New Credit(s): n/a
Jen
Lieutenant
New Credit(s): Afterburn, Carolina Cyclone, Carolina Goldrusher, Copperhead Strike, Flying Cobras, Fury 325, Hurler, Kiddy Hawk, Nighthawk, Ricochet, Thunder Striker, Vortex, Woodstock Express
1 thought on “Carowinds – North, South, & Every Coaster in Between”
You forgot to mention them forcing me to wear flip flops on thunder striker talk about anxiety 😬 of losing a flip flop at 80 mph
Comments are closed.